Door assembly and clothes treatment apparatus having the same

Abstract

A clothes treatment apparatus including a cabinet having an opening, a drum placed within the cabinet to accommodate laundry therein, and a door assembly configured to open or close the opening. The door assembly includes a second module having a hollowed region and configured to be selectively open or closed in different directions, and a first module, at least a portion of which hermetically seals the hollowed region, the first module being configured not to interfere with opening/closing of the second module. Such an improved configuration of the door assembly ensures easy change in the opening/closing direction of a door.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A clothes treatment apparatus, comprising:
 a cabinet having an opening;   a drum placed within the cabinet, the drum being rotated upon receiving rotation power from a drive source;   a door assembly configured to open or close the opening; and   a hinge coupling portion formed around the opening, to which one side of the door assembly is hingedly coupled,   wherein the door assembly includes:   a first module having a door glass; and   a second module separably coupled to the first module, the second module comprising a hinge unit fixed between a first body and a second body that respectively define a front surface and a rear surface of the second module, the hinge unit being coupled to the hinge coupling portion.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the drum accommodates laundry therein, and the door assembly is configured to open or close the opening for insertion/removal of the laundry into or from the drum. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the hinge unit comprises:
 a hinge body coupled to the hinge coupling portion;   a rotating shaft configured to assist the first module in pivotally rotating about one side thereof; and   an L-shaped hinge protruding from the hinge body and connected to the rotating shaft.   
     
     
         4 . The apparatus according to  claim 1 , further comprising a door seating flange configured such that at least a portion of the door assembly is seated in the door seating flange,
 wherein the hinge coupling portion is provided at the door seating flange.   
     
     
         5 . The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the opening is open or closed by the first module. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the second module has an annular shape defining a hollowed region. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein one of the first body and the second body comprises a plurality of hooks arranged in a circumferential direction thereof, and
 wherein the other one of the first body and the second body comprises hook recesses corresponding to the hooks.   
     
     
         8 . The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the hinge unit is disposed at one side of the first module, and a grip structure is disposed at the other side of the first module to assist opening/closing of the door assembly about the hinge unit. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the first module comprises at least one coupling protrusion disposed at the rim thereof, and
 wherein the second module includes at least one coupling recess corresponding to the coupling protrusion.   
     
     
         10 . The apparatus according to  claim 9 , wherein the coupling protrusion comprises a sensing piece protruding toward a rear surface of the door assembly to sense whether or not the opening is open or closed. 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the second module further comprises a seating portion indented such that at least a portion of the outer periphery of the first module is seated in the seating portion. 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus according to  claim 11 , wherein a radius of the seating portion is less than a radius of a centrifugally outer surface of the second module. 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus according to  claim 11 , wherein the seating portion is formed in the rear surface of the second module. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein a radius of the first module is less than a radius of the second module. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the first module further comprises a glass cover configured to support the door glass. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus according to  claim 15 , wherein the glass cover comprises a first glass cover and a second glass cover to support front and rear surfaces of the door glass, respectively. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus according to  claim 15 , wherein the glass cover comprises:
 a cover body, at least a portion of which is seated in a seating portion indented around the hollowed region of the first module so as to be seated in the first module; and   a glass fixing portion extending from the cover body to support the door glass.   
     
     
         18 . A door assembly to open or close an opening of a clothes treatment apparatus for insertion or removal of laundry, the door assembly comprising:
 an inner door comprising a door glass to enable viewing of the interior of the clothes treatment apparatus through the opening; and   an outer door comprising an annular body defining a hollowed region, a seating portion indented in the body around the hollowed region for coupling of an outer periphery of the inner door, and a hinge unit coupled to the periphery of the opening,   wherein a position of the hinge unit is changeable to assist the outer door in selectively pivoting about the hinge unit in different directions.   
     
     
         19 . The door assembly according to  claim 18 , wherein the inner door comprises at least one coupling protrusion disposed at the rim thereof, and
 wherein the outer door comprises at least one coupling recess corresponding to the at least one coupling protrusion.   
     
     
         20 . The door assembly according to  claim 18 , wherein the outer door further comprises a seating portion indented such that at least a portion of the outer periphery of the inner door is seated in the seating portion. 
     
     
         21 . The door assembly according to  claim 20 , wherein the seating portion is formed in a rear surface of the outer door. 
     
     
         22 . The door assembly according to  claim 18 , wherein a radius of the inner door is less than a radius of the outer door. 
     
     
         23 . The door assembly according to  claim 18 , wherein the outer door has an annular shape defining the hollowed region. 
     
     
         24 . The door assembly according to  claim 18 , wherein the opening is open or closed by the outer door. 
     
     
         25 . The door assembly according to  claim 18 , further comprising at least two hinge coupling portions formed around the opening at opposite positions for coupling of the hinge unit,
 wherein the hinge unit is selectively coupled to one of the at least two hinge coupling portions.   
     
     
         26 . A clothes treatment apparatus comprising:
 a cabinet having an opening;   a drum placed within the cabinet to accommodate laundry therein, the drum being rotated upon receiving rotation power from a drive source; and   a door assembly configured to open or close the opening for insertion/removal of the laundry into or from the drum,   wherein the door assembly comprises:   an outer door comprising a hinge unit fixed between a first body defining a front surface having a hollowed region and a second body defining a rear surface, the hinge unit being coupled to the periphery of the opening, a seating portion indented in the rear surface of the second body around the hollowed region, and a pair of upper and lower coupling recesses formed at an outer circumferential surface of the seating portion; and   an inner door having a pair of coupling protrusions corresponding to the coupling recesses, the outer periphery of the inner door being seated in the seating portion.   
     
     
         27 . A door assembly, comprising:
 a first module having an upper side and a lower side that are asymmetrical to each other; and   a second module having a hinge unit, such that the second module is configured to change a position of the hinge unit via rotation thereof so as to be selectively opened or closed in different directions.